"-and that was the day I ate the cat!" Arkot finished his story.
"Okay. First off, those details were completely unnecessary. Second, why didn't you tell me I could access this place while sleeping earlier? I could've spent last night studying the books you sent." When I woke up that morning, I traveled back to the Archive to return to the subspace. There, Arkot's voice awaited me.
"First off, those details were absolutely necessary to my story. Second, it's not as simple as you imagine. You needed your sleep. Your physical body may be getting the rest it requires, but your mental state would be as exhausted as if you pulled an all-nighter." Arkot explained.
"And just to make sure, I don't physically appear here? My actual body just drops dead and my mind creates this place?" If my physical body was getting rest, then I could safely assume this subspace was some sort of mental area.
"Mhm. Something like that!"
"By the way, could you explain the rulebook to me? I don't really understand how this is supposed to help me. I don't see any tips or tricks in here. Just a few odd terms." I grabbed the book and waved it in the air.
"It's updating. The books will change as the Archive continues to be repaired. Think of it as 'downloading' information from it."
"Can I speed up the process?" I asked.
"No. It'll go at it's own pace. Just do your job, keeping things away from it." He answered.
"Huh. So it's-"
"But! There's another bonus! Heraldic! As the process continues, you'll be able to learn the language faster!"
I glanced at the book, "The Heraldic Language for Dummies."
"How fast?"
"Considering you have nothing else to do with your life, you should be fluent in less than a few months."
I ignored what he said and started flipping through the book. It only had a few hundred pages. Would more appear over time?
I sat on the table, and started reading from page one. It was better to start studying this as soon as possible. What was next? What would happen when I would eventually meet another person? I needed to be able to communicate, at least at the most basic level.
~~~
"Boring. You're so boring! Boring, boring, boring!" Arkot's voice echoed in my ears.
"Shut up. I'm trying to read." I replied.
But he wasn't entirely wrong. After the initial excitement of learning a new language faded away, studying the texts became extremely boring. Although I was somehow able to memorize the words and characters with ease, it didn't make the process any more fun.
Truthfully, I wanted to go outside, to really explore this world, regardless of the dangers.
I sighed, and exited the subspace. I resolved to take a break. Fresh air and a bit of stretching would make all this more bearable.
~~~
The wolf was laying down on the edge of the clearing. It appeared to have been waiting for me.
When I approached it, it raised its head to watch me.
"Hey. Thanks for the rabbit yesterday. That was you, right?"
The wolf didn't answer, but stood up and turned around. It took a few steps into the forest before it glanced back at me, then repeating the gesture.
"Do you want me to follow you?"
The wolf only blinked in response.
It probably wasn't a great idea, but I chose to tag along.
As we traveled across the forest, I made sure to memorize the path we were taking, in case I had to retrace my steps. No harm in being careful.
After a while, we had reached a destination. The wolf stopped in front of a clear, wide lake that stretched far into the distance.
I knelt down by the shore, and held a cupful of water in my hands. My reflection stared back at me, but my features were blurred, unrecognizable.
A bark shook me back to focus.
"Is this safe to drink?"
The wolf went forward and started drinking from the lake.
"I guess so." I took a small sip, then started to gulp down large quantities. I had been dying of thirst, but the water tasted amazing. Maybe due to the lack of human pollution?
I wiped away the water from my chin.
"Thanks for showing me this."
The wolf stopped drinking, and started moving in a new direction.
'Is there something else?' I wondered.
After a few minutes, the wolf led me to another area, featuring a large tree. At the top, I saw small purple objects hanging down. There were also a few scattered across the floor. When I picked one up, I realized it was some kind of fruit. It was the size of my fist, and had a squishy texture.
I was about to take a bite when I heard sudden rustling behind me.
I spun around, and saw a different wolf. Then another. One by one, they emerged from my surroundings, until I was completely surrounded. Unlike the original, they were all smaller in size and lacked the crystal horns on the back. They could've passed off as normal wolves from my world.
They walked around me, and formed a small group behind the original. None of them gave off any aggressive signals, they just moved around while watching me.
"Hi. Can I help you guys?"
I was perplexed. A wolf pack had come out of nowhere and started observing me. Why? Were they friendly? Did they want something from me?
"Do you want some fruit?"
I tossed a fruit at one of the wolves. Bonk. It bounced off it's head. No reaction.
"Sorry!"
The best course of action would be to take some fruit and return to base.
I picked up four of the fruit, and carrying them in my arms, started to head back. As I did so, the wolves sat down, and continued to watch me until I was out of sight.
~~~
I was back inside the Pyramid, eating the purple fruit. It had a sour taste, but I didn't mind. It was the second thing I had ate since coming to this world. I contemplated heading back in the future to get more.
I thought more about the wolves. The way they acted was puzzling. Everything was so... composed? I was happy as long as they didn't enter the clearing, but I decided to ask Arkot about it.
~~~
"The wolves? That makes sense. They're usually pretty hostile to people, but your circuits have been completely rewritten. They probably don't process you as a human. Pair that with the Queen's gift, I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up feeling a small connection to you." Arkot told me. He sounded tired, different from his regular tone.
"Circuits. Gifts. Those terms again. When are you going to send me a book explaining them? Or about magic in this world? The information would come in handy."
"Soon. The Archive's almost finished repairing a tenth of itself. You'll get another present when that's done."
Another present? A book? A magical power? Hopefully something I could use.
I decided to stop worrying and picked up "The Heraldic Language For Dummies." It was best to use any time I had to study.
~~~
"That's not how you say it. Diocaedus. Die. A. Seed. Us! Repeat after me. Diocaedus!" In the last few hours, I had Arkot help me practice the pronunciation of words. I had no one else to tell me if I was saying things right.
"Are you sure it's not dio-kai-dus? It's Diocaedus?" I asked again.
"Yes, I'm sure! Quick, next one!" He was already back to his normal self.
"No, I'm done for the day. See you."
"Wait, just one-"
I left the area, content with what I had learned that day. As I left the building, I wondered if the wolf would be there.
"There you are." I saw it in the distance, laying down right by the border. I walked up and sat down in front of it. I had already decided that if it meant harm, it would've attacked me a long time ago.
"I've been wondering... are you a boy or a girl?"
The wolf just stared at me.
'I am going to assume it's a male.'
"Do you have a name?"
Stare...
"Of course you don't. You're from the wild. Maybe I should give you a name?"
The wolf just blinked a few times.
"Yeah. That doesn't make much sense. How could I give you a name if I don't even know my own?" It wasn't just friends and family that I had forgotten the names of. My own name... I would ask Arkot more about that.
"Anyways, I'm hungry. I'm going to get some food and water from the places you showed me earlier. You coming?" I crossed into the forest and made a gesture, pointing in the direction I was planning to go in.
No response, as usual. I waved the wolf good-bye and left.
~~~
Returning with an armful of fruit, I was greeted with another dead rabbit.
"Thanks." I told my new companion.
"Can I call you Wolf?"